Dad

I cannot believe were going on a year 1/2. It still feels so unreal to me. I miss him so much and wish he could still be here. I still have a lot of "WHYS" which i think i will forever. I love my dad and am grateful for everything he taught me. He's the best Dad!

This is my brother Scotts talk from my dad's funeral. I plan on making this blog into a book and i wanted this talk to be in the book. He did a great job on it. I love it!

This is a son’s dedication to his father in whom he loved more than life itself.
What can you say about a man who died 30 years before his time? His incredible life was cut short on Tuesday without warning. For those of you not aware my father died of undiagnosed heart disease that came to a spearhead the day he died. By all accounts my father should have lived to the age of 100 and his death so young is the most ironic experience in my life. My father rarely ever ate greasy foods and was conscious what he put into his body. He ate all natural foods grown straight from his garden and health food markets. He took every vitamin and herbal supplement known to man and some known to a few animals. He exercised every morning right after he woke up but somehow all this was not able to stop what happened to my father. It’s the ultimate irony as my father sat and told me as he is eating a salad with fresh greens and I am shoving my face with french fries, he would say how can you eat that crap. My father led an unusual life and died an unusual death.
My father dedicated his life to religion, we as a family were just not sure what religion that was. But make no mistake my father was a very spiritual man. Anyone that talked five minutes with him could tell you that. His beliefs and open mindedness towards every situation he encountered brought about an incredible energy. People were drawn to my father because of it. This energy created an environment of loving support. My dad always told me love and support will always beat out fear and criticism. A huge lesson my father taught me through his spiritual beliefs was service. Service to our family, service to others, and service to ourselves. This wasn’t the typical physical service to others the church teaches but this was something so much greater that unless you knew him you couldn’t understand. My father loved to talk religion with anyone that was willing to listen and had an open mind. Although he didn’t follow the church teachings to the letter T, his life brought about more happiness, service, and love to match ten men. I do have a sense of peace knowing he finally knows the answers to what he spent a lifetime pondering.
As many of you know my father had a slightly skewed sense of humor which brought life and laughter to all those around him. He was always up for a practical joke against my family and usually was the one spearheading the idea. Whether it be hiding my children’s poopy diaper in my aunts and uncles cars during the hot weather when they came to visit, or spraying down the rich socialites of Los Angles with a fire extinguisher just before they stepped into a fancy restaurant, he always loved to laugh. It seemed as a family we were always laughing at something my dad was doing. For example my dad has three chickens right now in his backyard, why chickens, cause he wanted fresh eggs, but they haven’t yielded a single egg yet. Another funny story is a few years ago I decided to take a college level online Spanish course for credit. Me having the deceptive mind I have, I decided my father who spoke fluent Spanish would basically take the tests for me. Yes I know it was cheating but its not what you know its who you know that counts, plus I figured it would be an easy A. The first quiz comes and I get an email stating I failed it. I come to my dad and read the notes to him. The teacher stated where are you getting your Spanish text from, in the course of forming your sentences your making up words that don’t exist in the Spanish language. I decided after that I needed to drop the course. Another funny story is from when my family plays steal the flag on Sundays. For those of you who don’t know how to play, you have two bases approximately 200 ft apart and line is drawn down the middle of the field, each team takes a side and you try to get to the opposite base without getting tagged. Well when my 5 year old niece, his granddaughter made a run for the base, my dad in a dead sprint ran after her. My niece try to cut around him and you just seem my 200 lb dad bum tackle her to the ground. He didn’t mean to do it because the force of him moving he just couldn’t stop in time but it was dang funny to watch plus my niece didn’t get hurt.
Growing up I could ask for no better father. He loved my family deeply and was an incredible example in everything he did. Ever since I can remember I have always wanted to be exactly like my father. Everything I am today is because of him. I looked up to him in every aspect of his life and have met no better of a man. There never was a time my father was not there for me if I needed it and he taught me so many of life’s lessons. I’ve come to realize now that he is gone I am not yet a man. He was taken long before his time and I need him back to complete me as a whole. When I watched my father die that day, I watched a piece of my soul die with him. No son has ever loved a father more and no father will ever be as missed as him. We spent every spare moment we had together and he was my best friend. How do you continue on when one of the biggest parts of your life is now gone. Our closeness went beyond anything spiritual and became something eternal. My dream came true this year when I was given a chance to work with my father in his business side by side. I loved working for my father, we enjoyed so many memories talking about business and life. I cherished every moment I spent with him in this last year and it was the greatest gift I could have ever been given from him.
There was nothing I would not do for my father and I know there was nothing he would not do for me. If my father told me today to pack my bags, drop everything and move to the far east, I would tell him give me five minutes to grab my family because I am in. The idea of being separated from my father is something I cannot handle. I can’t picture my life without him, it’s a life I don’t want to be a part of. The only comfort I now have is the look I see in my sons eyes, it’s the same look I saw when I looked into my fathers eyes.
My father and I as you can tell had a very special relationship. I was witnessing this special relationship being passed on to my son, Nixon. Sometimes it felt he was more excited to see his grandpa then he was to see me. My son will never truly get to know how great a man my father really was. His brilliant intellect, his extraordinary sense of humor, and his wonderful family values were just the beginning. My father excelled at everything he put his mind too and I needed him here to pass those traits onto to my son. My father brought so much joy into my life and it kills me inside to know my kids won’t be able experience that same joy from him.
I am able to see a lot of my father in me which pleases me greatly. As many of you know my father was an entrepreneur at heart and enjoyed many different business’s interests. My father had about a two year shelf life for every job he had before he switched to something different and I too find myself wanting to constantly learn a new trait. I praise my father for teaching me the value of education and the value of change. My father was the smartest man I have ever known and there was nothing he did not know something about. Every day he constantly would be studying books, magazines, the Internet, and articles for information he found interesting. My favorite was inquiring from him on something he had learned or read about. I always had a million questions for him because I too felt my thirst for knowledge growing and he was my favorite source for information.
I use to tell my dad growing up about the Farnworth Luck. This is the luck I felt only the Farnworths had. It wasn’t quite good luck and it definitely was bad luck. Any time a Farnworth was presented with a situation, no matter what decision he made it was always the wrong one and we usually got shafted in the end. It happened many times over the course of mine and my dad’s life and if I had more time I would explain every situation, you too would believe in the Farnworth Luck. All I have to say now dad is, the Farnworth Luck got us again.
Now I would like to take some time to tell my family how much they meant to my father.
Mom- you were dad’s dream girl and he loved you so much. He honestly cherished every moment he spent with you and he found out he needed you just as much as you needed him.
Christy- You were the apple of dad’s eye, his first born. I know he loved watching you as a mother and was so thankful for you as a daughter.
Mike- You have been with the family the longest and I know my dad considered you his second son. He so enjoyed watching your many accomplishments and seeing you turn into the wonderful man you are today.
Shauna- You were the one who inherited dad’s sharp intellect and wonderful sense of humor, I know he is pleased you will be the one to step up and take over cooking for the family.
Jeff- My dad always loved your unique outlook or alternative thinking towards any situation. He loved you larger than life personality.
Jenny- You were daddy’s little girl and no one could make dad laugh the way you could. You inherited his sparkling personality and his incredible energy.
Joe- My dad always loved your competitive drive and your energy for sports. I only wish you had gotten more time to spend with him.
And last to my wonderful wife Julie- I want you to know he loved you like a daughter and nothing gave him more enjoyment than teaching you his cooking recipes and talking to you about opening a restaurant.

My father loved all of us so deeply. I hope I can be one tenth the man he was when I am his age. My father’s passing has left a permanent void in my life I know will never be filled. I know my family and I must take it one day at a time but theses days are sure feeling long. I know my father will always be with me in spirit and it’s a comfort. My father was an extraordinary man who led an extraordinary life.
He was my father, he was my hero, he was friend. I love you dad.